Railway rail



H. LANs'ml; 2,238,652

April 15, 1941.

RAILWAY an; Fil gd l rch 22. 1940 2 Sha'ets-Sheet, L

Patented Apr. 15, 1941 RAILWAY RAIL Horace L. Lansing, Rutherford, N. Jassignor to Pour & Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of DelawareApplication March 22,1940, Serial No. 325,439

Claims.

This invention relates to railway rails of the T-rail type and has forits primary object to provide a novel rail head formation havingpronounced improvement in its physical properties, and in otherimportant particulars, over a comparable standard T-rail and alsoproviding for the use of an improved rail joint bar with imf' provedphysical properties and a better distribution of metal therein than thecomparable "joint bar employed with the said comparable standard rail.

It is well known that even small changes in the section and relativeproportion of parts in a railway rail and/or. joint bar, materiallyaffect proper cooling thereof in manufacture, as well as the physicalproperties of same, and so the changes provided by the present inventionover a comparable standard rail and joint bar contribute directly to theproduction of a modified T rail and joint bar having many desirableadvantages.

Among the more particular advantages, at-

trib'utable to the present invention are that, for

the same amount of metal used, the new rail will 'have a greater momentof inertia or stiffness than the comparable standard T-rail which itmodifies, and at the same time may have a greater height of fishingspace for the joint bar than the comparable standard rail, therebypermitting the use of a stronger joint bar of generally better physicalpropertiesthan the comparable bar used with the standard rail In brief,the present invention particularly provides a novel interfilletrelationship between the head fillets and lower outer corner fillets ofthe rail head, whereby there is obtained far less stress concentrationin the head fillets, a more uniform stress distribution-in the web and amore uniform cooling of the metal in the zone of the head fillets thanin a comparable standard T-rail, for example,,in a comparable A. R. E.A. standard T-rail the invention is better understood, the same con-.sists in the novel features of construction, combination andarrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand defined in the appendedclaims. 1

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding ,parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a view of the new rail superimposed ,upon a comparablestandard T-rail, typified by the standard 131 lb. R. E. rail.

Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are a series of views of the new rail headstructure showing thewarious radii involved and illustrating the rangeof the invention with respect to the relation of the headweb. fillet andthe outer bottom corner fillet of the rail head. I I

In carrying forward the present invention a fundamental feature thereofis to provide an enlarged joint bearing fillet l connecting the headwith the web of the rail, such fillet being on a long sweeping curvehaving a radius materially greater than the radius of the corresponding,fillet of a standard comparable rail, and an enlarged fillet 2 at thebottom corner of the rail'head-likewise having a radius materiallygreater than the of this standard T-rail has its web struck on a of asubstantially equal cross sectional area. In

addition the said novel interfillet relationship pro vides a betterdistribution of stresses in critical locations, a better cooling in thezone of the head fillets, a higher moment of inertia, and greaterabrasion head-wear than in the comparable standard T-rail, a rail havinga much higher moment of, inertia, better cooling and better distributlonof stresses than is obtainable in the said comparable standard T-rail.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will more readilyappear as the nature of 10" radius terminating at its upper end, asshown by the arrow at x, and the head fillet thereof is shown to bestruck on a /2" radius, which is connected by a long tangent y with asmall redius at the bottom corner of the rail head. In said figure ofthe drawings the new modified rail head structure, illustrated by fulllines is superimposed upon this standard comparable rail. It will behere observed that a radical change is provided by the new structure inthe disposition of. thesaid enlarged head fillet l which is struck on aradius materially greater than the corresponding radius of the standardrail, the said head fillet radius of v the new rail, for purposes ofcomparison, being shown as H";

The center point of this radius is, in the example shown, approximatelyin the horizontal planeof the center point of the radius of the headfillet oi the standard rafl and a sumcient distance beyond the saidcenter point the radius of the head fillet of the standard rail whichwould have the eflect,-in this embodiment of the invention, of causingthe head fillet of the new rail to extend definitely above the fishingsurface at the underside ofthe head of the said comparable standardT-rail, thereby correspondingly elevating the entire head of the newrail as compared with the head of the standard T-rail, with the resultof imparting to the new rail greater stiffness and strength than thecomparable standard rail. As to the, fillet 2 of the new rail head atthe bottom corner thereof in the selected example, shown in Figures 1and 4 of the drawings, the same is struck'on a radius of which is verymaterially greater than the 1 radius at the bottom corner of thecomparable 131 lb. standard rail. In other words in this example of theinvention, the entire underside oi the modified new rail structure iscarried upward a distance above the head and corner fillets of the saidcomparable standard rail, and above the tangent 11 thereof. Moreover,the top surface of the new rail is correspondingly elevated above thetop surface of the comparable standard rail, Therefore, there isprovided a new rail structure of far better physical properties than thecomparable 131 lb. standard rail;

Thus it will be seen that a feature of practical importance, accordingto the present invention, is

the said novel-interfillet relationship provided at the underside of therail head involving the use' of enlarged inner and outer filletsdefinitely related to a certain radius range, asshown in Fig.-

ures 2, 3, 4 and 5v of the drawings to obtain the desired results. Also,the intervening tangent betweenthese two fillets cooperates, as stated,with the headof the joint bar to prevent or retard the same from workingup and out of place under load, this function of the tangent operatingto minimize wearlbetween the rail and the joint.

comer fillet of the rail head the joint bars are permitted to have an,apexless ball and socket greater stiffness than the comparable jointbar 5 and lies between a two to one and a one to one ratio of saidfillets as shown respectively in Figs. 2 and 5. In this range it ispreferable to have the head fillet of the rail of the sameorapproximately the same radius in all forms of the invention, that is,with a radius of $2". A preferable ratio between the said two fillets isshown in Figs. 1 and 4' of the drawings, that is, a ratio in which thehead web fillet of is one and one-fourth times the 1%" radius of thebottom corner fillet of the rail head, that is to say, the head filletsand lower outer corner fillets are both of greater radii than thecorresponding fillets of the comparable standard T-rail, and the radiiof the lower outer corner fillets are not less than one-half the radiiof the head fillets and not greater than the I radii of the headfillets. While it may be said that optimum results are obtained by theratio of the fillets shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings it will beunderstood that the invention is mamfested as an improvement upon thecomparable standard rail inthe maximum and minimum ratios shown in theFigs. 2 and? of the drawings.

By reason of'the relatively larger outer bottom because of the sharpupward sweep of the upper, inner corner ofits head for contacting thehead fillets of the new rail. Moreover, the joint bar necessarily willhave a greater head bearing area, lower stress and bett'er distributionof metal than the comparable bar for use with the comparable standardT-iail.

The joint bar B employed is preferably of a type having an enlargedrounded bearing head completely filling the head fillet of the rail andhaving a rounded top surface sweeping outwardly and downwardly, as at a,so as to avoid sharp apex metal and to entirely clearthe bottom roundedcorner 2 of the rail head.

A mathematical illustration of the advantages of the present invention,in comparison with the comparable standard rail and joint bar which itmodifies is shown by the following tables, that is to say:

The comparable 131 lb. R. E. rail has the following physical properties:

Moment of inertia 88.5 Section modulus top 22.6 Section modulus bottom27.6

The new rail, according to Fig. l, which is a modification of the saidcomparable standard rail has the following physical properties:

' sents, without increase of metal a materially greater moment ofinertia greater than that of the comparable standard rail with adistribution of metal throughout the head structiu'e better adapted forcooling than the head structure of the standard rail.

Taking a. joint bar of standard type usable with the said standardcomparable rail the physical properties of such bar are: I

Moment of inertia 32.0

Section modulus top 12.6 Section modulus bottom 12.6

An improved joint bar of the same weight as V the comparable prior baradaptable to the under head structure of the new rail and to the higherfishing thereof according to the present invention has the followingphysical properties:

Moment of inertia 35.0

Section modulus top 14.1 Section modulus bottom 13.0

within the appended claims will be'rea-dily understood.

of the head fillets, whereby stress concentration in the head fillets isreduced and more uniform cooling is obtained in the head fillet zonethanin the said comparable rail.

2. A railway rail having in its head portion a new interfilletrelationship as compared with a standard T-rail, e. g., an A. R. E. A.standard T- rail or substantially equal cross sectional area, the

said new interfillet relationship comprising head fillets and lowerouter comer fillets both of greater radii than the corresponding filletsof said comparable rail, the radii of the. lower outer corner filletsbeing not less than one-half the radii of the head fillets and notgreater than the radii of the head fillets, whereby stress concentrationin the head fillets is reduced and more uniform cooling in thehead-fillet zone of the rail is obtained than in the said comparablerail, the tops of said head fillets being disposed higher above the base.of the rail than the tops of the head fillets of the said comparablerail. v

3. A railway rail having in its head portion a new interfilletrelationship as compared with a standard T-rail, e. g., an A. R. E. A.standard T- rail or substantially equal cross sectional area, the saidnew interfillet relationship comprising head fillets and lower outercorner fillets both of great-- er radii than the corresponding filletsoi. said com parable rail, the radii of the'lower outer corner filletsbeing not less than one-half the radii of the head fillets and notgreater than the radii of the head fillets, whereby stress concentrationin the head fillets is reduced and more uniform coolingjn the headfillet zone of the rail is obtained than in the comparable standardT-rail,

the top of the head and the tops of the said head fillets being disposedhigher above the base of the rail than the top of the head and the topsof the head fillets, respectively, of the said comparable rail.

4. A railway rail having in its head portion a new interfilletrelationship as compared with a standard T-rail, e. g., an A. R. E. A.standard T- rail of substantially equal cross sectional area, the saidnew interfillet relationship comprising head fillets and lower outercorner fillets both of greater radii than the corresponding fillets ofsaid comparable rail, the radii of the lower outer corner fillets beingnot less than one-half the radii of the head fillets and not greaterthan the radii of the head fillets. whereby stress concentration in thehead fillets is reduced and more uniform cooling in the head fillet zoneof the rail is ob- 'tained than in the said comparable rail, the underside of the head of said rail having fiat upwardly and outwardlyextending faces between and tangent to related head and corner fillets,respectively. v

5. A railway rail having in its head portion a new interfilletrelationship as compared with a standard T-rail, e. g., an A. R. E. A.standard T- rail of substantially equal cross sectional area,

the said new interfillet relationship comprising head fillets and lowerouter corner fillets bot-hof greater radii than the correspondingfillets of said comparable rail, the radii of the lower outer cornerfillets being not less than one-half the radii of. the head fillets andnot greater than the radii of the head fillets, whereby stressconcentration in the head fillets is reduced and more uniform cooling inthe head fillet zone of the rail is obtained than in the said comparablerail, the top of the head and the tops of the-said head fillets beingdisposed higher above the base of the rail than the top or the head andthe tops of the head fillets, respectively, of the said comparable rail,and joint bars having rounded upper inner corners substantiallyconforming in contour to said head fillets and having loading engagementtherewith, said joint bars having a greater moment of inertia than jointbars fitting the said comparable rail.

HORACE L. LANSING.

